How it started and why we are continuing the ride.

My mother has had MS since I was born and her condition has progressively gotten worse over the years. Back in the 80’s when she was diagnosed, very little was known about MS and there were few promising treatments. I’ve participated in walks and bike rides throughout my life but wasn’t satisfied that only 30% of the funds went to research. I decided to contact a research institute myself and send the money directly to doctors working towards a cure. Partners MS Center looked promising and when I spoke with them they were helpful and encouraging. I took an HTML class, made the website, and convinced three friends to ride with me. A few months later we were on bikes leaving Seattle.

We felt that asking for money was not enough so we called local radio stations and offered volunteer services to listeners in the area. Only a few people actually contacted us for help, but the offer was greatly appreciated and we received many nice emails. Having a lot of stuff on your bike is a conversation starter in itself and it gave us the chance to talk about why we were riding. It was quickly apparent that almost everyone we met had some connection to MS. The personal connections we made on the trip were in some ways more satisfying than the bike ride itself. For this reason it was more than just a cross-country bike ride and this is why we have to try again.

I had not planned on riding across the country again but as normal life took hold and sleeping in a bed was no longer luxurious I began to change my mind. Some friends contacted me and expressed interest in riding across the country for Bike the US for MS, so a few days later we bought the maps and started planning. I posted the information on our website and people around the country began contacting us. When you google “Bike the US” our website is #1 on the search results. People pay a lot of money to go on supported bike tours – why not do it for a good cause?

There is no cure for MS and there seems to be no shortage of people who want to bike across the country. If we can contribute towards a cure in a fun and inspiring way i think we should keep trying. 

Don